PS3 clusters hit as Sony gives Linux the flick
- 19 August, 2009 10:45
- Comments 7
Sony’s announcement of the new PS3 Slim has excited gamers worldwide, but people wanting to run Linux on the console have been shunned with the removal of its 'Install Other OS' feature.
Since its debut a few years ago the PS3 – and its heralded Cell processor co-developed with IBM – has found a niche within the scientific research community for a cheap HPC running Linux for number crunching.
Within Sony’s announcement of the new Playstation came a short notice of the removal of the multi-OS feature.
"The new PS3 system will focus on delivering games and other entertainment content, and users will not be able to install other Operating Systems [sic] to the new PS3 system," according to the company.
Linux is the only mainstream operating system to be ported to the PS3 and distributions include Fedora, OpenSUSE, Ubuntu and Yellow Dog Linux.
Ironically, in the very same announcement Sony said it intends to “further expand the PS3 platform and create a new world of computer entertainment”.
As early as 2007 engineers at North Carolina State University built the first academic computing cluster out of PS3s.
Technical details of the cluster are available online.
The same year Computerworld reported on the use of a PS3 cluster at the University of Massachusetts.
University astrophysicist Dr Gaurav Khanna praised Sony for making the PS3 an “open platform”.
“What's unique is that they made it an open platform. Normally with a game console, the maker controls who can run what on it. What Sony did was make the PS3 an open platform,” he said.
“They let you run whatever you want on it. It has the full capabilities of a normal computer. You can run Firefox or whatever you want. It gave me the possibility of doing whatever I want with it."
US company Fixstars even offers a turn-key PS3 system running Yellow Dog Linux which can be used as a supercomputing cluster node.
The Sony PS3 Slim will be available in Australia from September 3, 2009 for $499.
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Comments
Davin George
1
Bye bye Sony
Well this did it for me, I was looking to purchase a new PS3 but by removing Linux you took us away from it immediately! I won't be buying another one at this rate, how stupid is Sony to do this? You had it in place already, its not like you're paying licensing rights so why be so short sighted?
I prefer one brand for my entertainment system which had previously included a PS3. But no more, guess its times to look back at LG, Panasonic and Pioneer seriously again.
Bye Bye Sony!
Anonymous
2
Its a GAME system and a Movie Player
Not a computer. If you wanna run Linux, buy a PC and install it. Who really cares if you cant install it on a PS3?!?!
Seriously .. if not being able to install your own OS on a GAME Player is stopping you from buying it .. you have serious issues.
Anonymous
3
All those clusters are the reason
They've been in short supply since their inception, and those that make their way into clusters of super number crunchers are removed from the gaming/blu-ray market. So I'm sure Sony thinks its a sensible move, since they never intended to break even on the hardware, all those Linux installations were subsidized, and now they don't want to do that anymore, too bad for them, the cat won't go back in the bag, I would guess they have about 16 days at the outside from the time the new console is widely available until there's a trivial boot loader/parition management utility to handle the "Other OS". Wishful thinking on my part says that this sort of reverse engineering attention gives a much shorter road to access to the GPU, and installing other OS's, but without a doubt Sony will generate more Linux installations by making it "impossible".
Anonymous
4
They say that they loose money for every ps3 they sell, hoping to get money with the games that the user will buy later.
Telling them that you will not buy a PS3 to run GNU/Linux would never scare them less.
Anonymous
5
Sure, but have you seen the prices of Cell Workstations?
Yeah, but if you need to program on a Cell there is nothing cheaper. Go have a look at the price of an IBM Cell Workstation, the difference in price is well over $2000 (if not more), heck even the PCI-E Cell based cards are normally more expensive than a PS3.
Saverio
6
Your missing the point: If I buy a product and I mean ANY product, I want to be able to use it the way <cite>I</cite> want. If I want to use my PS3 to keep me warm in winter I want the liberty to do that. It's mine, I work hard to save money to buy one and it's MINE. Hence, the ability to use the PS3 as a PC on steroids with whatever operating system I wish.
A $500 PS3 running Linux delivers far more processing power and cool computer graphics than a personal computer within the same price range.
I rest my case. :-)
Peter
7
Existing models?
Won't the existing models still be available? Sony has a couple of models now. If the fat version (not slim?) is popular then there will still be a model to run Linux on.